Tolerate: to allow;exist or occur without interference.
Intolerance: unable or indisposed to tolerate; unwillingness to recognise and respect

I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.

Gluten and lactose are not my friends.

Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.

I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

February 2, 2015

In My Kitchen- February 2015

It's been a busy, busy week in the InTolerant household

BigJ is back at work for good and littlej has started another year of school. I peeked inside her math textbook, recoiled, shuddered and slammed it shut hard. There were hardly any numbers, it was full of letters and symbols and...stuff that looked scary. Surds and sines and imaginary numbers and things that looked like they belonged on one of The Big Bang Theory's whiteboards rather than in my daughters homework.
I can cut a chicken to serve 8 and divide a cake into 16 slices, but that's about the extent of it. She'd better not need any help from me in this subject!

The start of this week has also bought the start of this month- and we all know that means the latest edition of In My Kitchen, yay :) To check out what's happening in lots of kitchens around the globe, just go to darling Celia's blog here for the full list, and of course feel free to join in the fun as well

In My Kitchen...
is a stunning Mother of Pearl Caviar Spoon that my Mum bought back from the Philippines. Stainless steel and silver spoons aren't used for the precious, expensive little fishy eggs as they might leave a metallic taste or taint... now if I only had some caviar!

In My Kitchen...
are some beautiful blue glassware, courtesy of my friend Pony. She said she was tired of my old, thick, scratched ones and it was well past time for some new. The prettiness is just a sign of her unerring good taste, if it wasn't already obvious in her choice of friend :)

In My Kitchen...
also from Pony, so cute little Mason Jar Mugs. Won't these be nice full of maple syrup alongside some pancakes!

In My Kitchen...
a great cookbook from a chef I really admire. Full of interesting and inventive dishes that I just can't wait to get my teeth into

In My Kitchen...
a fun and fantastic Paella Set from MiddleC. I've been wanting a paella pan for ages, but couldn't justify it- isn't it nice when someone takes that decision out of your hands :)

In My Kitchen...
are some Korean Ingredients that BigJ fell in love with on a recent trip there for business. He absolutely adores the Ssamjang paste and we've been having lettuce wraps filled with grilled steak,rice and veggies smeared with this lovely, pungent, spicy sauce

In My Kitchen...
are some elegant Korean Table Utensils that BigJ bought back for me. The poor guy didn't have much time at all for sightseeing or shopping, but he still managed to get his priorities right and bring home presents for us all :)

In My Kitchen...
is some Earl Grey infused chocolate from T2. The bergamont flavours of Earl Grey match beautifully with the smooth chocolate- yummo

In my Kitchen...
is a Heat Proof Glove. With all the bottling/preserving/jamming I've been doing lately it's come in really handy for grabbing hot jars without scalding my hands as I would usually do

In My Kitchen...
speaking of preserving, here is my new Bottling Funnel. So much easier for filling jars with volcanically hot jam than just tipping it in and hoping it doesn't splash, or ladling it in tentatively in terror

In My Kitchen...
is a very small selection of my Summer Preserves. Plum Jam, Plum Sauce, Tomato Jam and Pickles are just the start of my collection- chutneys and passata are still to come

In My Kitchen...
are some plumdiddlyumptious fresh Figs just bursting with sweetness! Such a wonderful fruit indeed and wonderful sweet or savoury or just straight off the tree

In My Kitchen...
alien looking but also delicious, Rambutans. Similar to lychees they are going into a big bowl of fruit salad to have with my lactose free yoghurt in the morning

In My Kitchen...
another alien looking fruit, Prickly Pears. Who knew that a cactus could taste good?

In My Kitchen...
Carob Pods found at the local markets. I grew up with carob instead of chocolate for treats and just love its earthy sweetness. My family might shudder when I have a steaming cup of hot carob instead of cocoa, but it's all joy to me

So Dear Readers, do you have any weird and wonderful goodies in your kitchen this month, and have you ever eaten Prickly Pear before?

Wow! You do sound like you've been super-busy, Rebecca, especially with all that preserving. I would love a bottling funnel as I'm no good at ladling things into jars. And how thoughtful of BigJ to bring you home such lovely and useful gifts. And if a call goes out for help with that maths homework, please don't look me up - Maths and I just don't talk the same language. I love the blue glassware from your friend - that would look so elegant on a dining table dressed for a dinner party xx

I must get a heat glove too. Somehow I never thought to use one for canning, thanks for that idea! Your preserves all sound wonderful. The caviar spoon is beautiful as are all the goodies your husband brought back from Korea.

Thanks Gretchen! I've definitely been Canning up a storm and the glove has been great as its so flexible compared to most other options. My hubby is a good bloke for sure, I've trained him well haven't I ;)

Oh I love prickly pear. I tried it in Sth America and regretted that I hadn't tried it on a previous trip to East Africa. I'm always on the look out for it here though it does take some careful handling. Those heat proof gloves would probably do the trick! cheers Fiona xx

Arghhhh Becca, pricky pear has to be my nemesis of the fruit world!! I picked one up at a local trash 'n' treasure market and went OUCH as the prickles stuck into my fingers. The stallholder said 'oh my dear you don't touch them'. Well there was no sign telling me not to!! I avoid them now. Pain reflex memory and all that. Hope you didn't get bitten and actually enjoyed yours! cheers, Kirsty

I did get a couple of prickles Kirsty, I read a good way to remove them is to smear on some of that white craft glue - the sort that dries clear, then when it dries totally you peel it off and the spikes will come out!

I've been on a Korean food bender lately too. My pantry runneth over with Gochugaru and Doenjang. I love all that stuff. Oh and I can't live without my bottling funnel. It's funny how something so simple can make the job so much easier. I've never tasted prickly pear fruit, but it looks gorgeous.

Great minds think alike! The Korean food is so delicious, but luckily not enough to bribe BigJ into moving there for a year away from us. Now maybe if it was Thailand he would have considered it...that's his favourite food! :) xo

Great minds think alike! The Korean food is so delicious, but luckily not enough to bribe BigJ into moving there for a year away from us. Now maybe if it was Thailand he would have considered it...that's his favourite food! :) xo

Great minds think alike! The Korean food is so delicious, but luckily not enough to bribe BigJ into moving there for a year away from us. Now maybe if it was Thailand he would have considered it...that's his favourite food! :) xo

Hi bec. You always have so much excitement in your Kitchen. How lovely that you have received so many presents it is no surprise though you are always thinking of others and shouldn't be surprised that others think of you.

So hard to pick a favourite, Becca, but I *think* it's the spoon set J brought you back as a gift! Although the MOP caviar spoon is such a treasure as well! Love your pretty blue glasses, but the mason jar mugs drive me a bit nutty - I'll be glad when that trend is over! :) And isn't it great to find the perfect funnel? We searched for one for ages, but they always had too big a hole of our jars. Finally tracked one down at Chefs! :)

The ssamjang paste is for a Korean dish called samgyupsal, right? Wrapping the meat in lettuce with bean paste is really addicting, you wouldn't stop eating 'till you're full. All the other additions to your kitchen look really interesting!

Love you new blue glasses (very swish) - they're so in right now. Your little mother of pearl spoon is really beautiful, a lovely little addition to your food photos ;) And those silver spoons & chopsticks from Korea - I just love silver cutlery that's a little different. Lovey goodies this month, see you next month for IMK

About Me

The InTolerant Chef is the nom-de-plume of The InTolerant Chef.She lives in Canberra,Australia,with her husband Big J, and 2 daughters, Little j and Middle C. Gluten and Lactose are not her friends. She also has many chemicals who refuse to tolerate her, and insulin finds her hard to resist. Despite all this, the InTolerant Chef is a healthy,happy person who loves cooking for her family and friends.